Parliament committee recommends firing all except 1 from tax tribunal
Abdul Sattar said the committee examined the cases of the Tax Appeal Tribunal and found that there were serious problems within the tribunal.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
The Judiciary Committee of the Parliament on Tuesday approved a recommendation to President Mohamed Muizzu to remove four members of the Tax Appeal Tribunal, including its President and Vice-President.
Holhudhoo MP Abdul Sattar Mohamed moved the committee to recommend the removal of four out of five members of the Tax Appeal Tribunal established under the Administrative Taxation Act; everyone except Ismail Sajid. The motion passed with the support of all members present in Tuesday's committee.
The five members of the Tribunal were appointed by the government of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The members are:
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Tribunal President Mohamed Munawwar Ali
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Tribunal Vice-President Hussain Zaidhaan Jaleel
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Member Ahmed Ashraf
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Member Khadheeja Naeem
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Member Ismail Sajid
The committee decided not to include Sajid among the members to be expelled as he brought the issues in the tribunal to the attention of the committee.
"One would dare to bring up issues in such an institution only if the person has good intentions. Our decision making may prevent such issues from reaching us in the future. So I think the person who filed this case here [Sajid] should not be removed," Abdul Sattar said.
The reason for the removal of the other members is that they have violated Article 59(a)(4) of the Administrative Taxation Act. The fourth paragraph of this article relating to the dismissal of members states:
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If the Board or the relevant committee of the Parliament finds that the person has neglected or failed to pay due attention to the performance of his duties as a member of the Board, he may be removed
Abdul Sattar said the committee examined the cases of the Tax Appeal Tribunal and found that there were serious problems within the tribunal. He said that while the Tax Appeal Tribunal is supposed to make a fair decision in revenue recovery or tax matters for the state, he noted that “certain kinds of approaches” have been taken in such decisions.
In addition, the committee then approved:
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To ask the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate allegations of unjust enrichment and corruption against some members of the tribunal
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To direct the Tribunal to arrange the structure of the Tribunal in a manner that will reduce the cost to the State; the committee noted that the tribunal is operating in more space than is required for the work
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To direct the Tribunal to amend the existing rules of the Tribunal regarding the appointment of the bench and the presidency of the bench
Members of the tribunal are not terminated by a parliamentary committee's decision. For this, the president has to be advised. It is up to the president to decide on the continuation or termination of the members.
